GALLERY: R16m Seaview home sale a boost for PE property market

This luxury home in Seaview has set a new sales record which holds promise for property values in the area.

This luxury home in Seaview has set a new sales record which holds promise for property values in the area.

This luxury home in Seaview has set a new sales record which holds promise for property values in the area.

This luxury home in Seaview has set a new sales record which holds promise for property values in the area.

This luxury home in Seaview has set a new sales record which holds promise for property values in the area.

This luxury home in Seaview has set a new sales record which holds promise for property values in the area.

The sale of a Port Elizabeth home for a whopping R16-million has set a “good news” benchmark for the property market in the city, which is set to see increasingly higher values.

This is the view of estate agents following the record-setting sale of a six-bedroom Seaview home that comes with a cottage, boathouse, tennis court and heated pool. The 2ha property was purchased by a game farm owner from Grahamstown who does not want to be named.

Harcourt Summerton property manager Vaughn Clarke said: “It is a nice benchmark to have in the Port Elizabeth market.” Clarke confirmed it was “for a fact, the highest price” for a Port Elizabeth property.

Louw Lochner, of Louw Lochner Properties, said it was an unheard of figure for the local property market. Lochner said property values in Port Elizabeth, which had been substantially lower than other major metros, were slowly growing.

“I am excited about where [Port Elizabeth] is going and [how the property market] will grow in the next five to 10 years.”

He said property prices for high-end homes in Port Elizabeth were lower than those in East London, although neither matched the enormous amounts paid for homes in Johannesburg or Cape Town.

Well-known local estate agent Adri Pretorius said she was not aware of any property selling for more than R16-million in Port Elizabeth. Bought in December, with the transfer of the property completed last week, the 750m² Seaview home was sold by Pam Golding Properties GoldClub agent Linda de Lange.

The house smashed the previous record of R10-million, also in Seaview, according to Ian Olivier, area principal of Pam Golding Properties in Port Elizabeth.

“The sale underpins a growing trend for high net worth buyers to relocate to Port Elizabeth from other parts of the Eastern Cape on the back of the area’s growing economy, its new, dynamic municipality and its selection of exclusive coastal homes where space, privacy and good security come standard,” Olivier said.

The record-holding property offers spectacular views of both the ocean and countryside.

“It’s a ‘wow’ home, but in such a friendly way,” De Lange said.

The custom-made solid wood kitchen boasts granite-topped counters and a central island as well as high-end gas and electric cooking appliances.

There is also a balau-decked, solar-heated swimming pool. De Lange described the property as “superbly designed, highly secured and [an] endlessly spacious property”.

According to De Lange, it combines modern lines with a contemporary South African farm aesthetic, boasting high vaulted ceilings, custom-made upsized picture windows and doors that slide back into wall cavities to open the home to the outdoors.

Other features include a computerised irrigation system, several lounges with fireplaces, and a large upstairs gym with exposed trusses. But as far as records go, this property pales against other sales in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

In June last year a German couple paid a staggering R290-million for a 2 000m², seven- bedroom Bantry Bay property which came with two luxury vehicles – a Porsche Cayenne and an Aston Martin DB9. And a 618m² penthouse at the exclusive Michelangelo Towers in Sandton went on sale for a somewhat more modest R48.9-million.